A challenge to Materialism Essay -- essays research papers

Cartesian Dualism ChallengedIn this paper, I will examine the issues of individuation and identity in Descartes school of thought of mind- proboscis dualism. I will begin by addressing the framework of Cartesian dualism. Then I will examine the problems of individuation and identity as they relate to Descartes. Hopefully, after explaining Descartes reasoning and subsequently spelling my response, I nominate show with some degree of confidence that the issues of individuation and identity offer a challenge to the Cartesians premise of mind-body dualism.Before diving into a precise examination of these two issues, it would be wise to first discuss the buns of Descartes philosophy. Descartes begins his discussion of mind by first disregarding everything that he send packing call into doubtfulness. After this mental cleansing, Descartes is left only with the maxim that I can non doubt that I am doubting. From this conclusion, Descartes states that some entity must be doing this d oubting, and pleads that this entity is his mind. The Cartesian mind has only one property thinking. Consequently, Descartes establishes a distinction between mind and body. The two share no characteristics, as the body does not indulge in thinking, the minds solitary function. Further, mind and body are independent of each other mind can constitute even in the absence of body. At the like time, Descartes does not doubt that the mind begins to think as soon as it is implanted in the body of an infant. Yet the mind does not need the body to guide in introspection, the action of thinking about thinking. Only introspection is resistive from illusion, confusion, or doubt. Information about the world outside of mind is prone to these hazards. We cannot conclude with certainty that other minds exist. Thus, the Cartesian is left to what I would dub a lonely existence Even if a Cartesian prefers to believe that to other military personnel bodies there are harnessed minds not unlike h is own, he cannot claim to be able to discover their individual characteristics. Absolute solitude is on this showing the ineluctable destiny of the soul. Only our bodies can meet.Now I will critically examine Descartes mind-body philosophy by addressing the issues of individuation and identity. First, I need to be clear about the issues I am addressing. In order to fully understand the problem of individuation, we nee... ...owed in my earlier example, share bodies the same. Strawson argues that even if a Cartesian claims to be directly experiencing his mind by introspection and therefore has no need of explaining the identity of his mind, he be quiet cannot rule out the possibility that a thousand different minds whitethorn occupy him during the next moment. As with individuation, Strawson and his fellow anti-Cartesians can correctly delineate minds in the same manner that I identified myself as the same girl I was 9 years ago. Those operating under Descartes philosophy cannot identify the same mind over time, and consequently cannot speak coherently (as Strawson puts it) about mind.Using Strawsons analysis of Descartes as a guide, I have attempted to demonstrate how two issuesindividuation and identity be to dismantle Descartes philosophy of mind-body dualism. I have stood behind the anti-Cartesian argument that in order to associate one mind with one bodywhich Strawson claims is a vital principle to both Cartesians and anti-Cartesianswe must think of mind as something dependent on a person and not as something intermit altogether, as Descartes would argue.